JP7253170B2 - Facility status management device and facility status management method - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a facility status management device and a facility status management method.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-100000 discloses a technique for allowing a user to check information on the congestion status of a facility such as a restaurant online.

However, the conventional systems such as Patent Document 1 simply provide information on the congestion status of facilities, and provide the user with sufficient information to determine whether the desired facility can be used with an acceptable waiting time. is not provided in a timely manner. Therefore, in the conventional system, the user had to browse the system many times, and sometimes missed the timing to use the desired facility.

JP 2019-70903 A

The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and aims to provide a facility status management device and a facility status management method capable of appropriately notifying a user that a facility has reached a desired congestion status. and

In order to solve the above problems, the facility status management device according to the present disclosure receives from the user terminal a notification request to the effect that notification is desired when the facility is in a specified congestion status, and from the facility terminal a receiving unit for receiving status information indicating congestion status of the facility; a facility status management unit for managing conditions for the notification together with information specifying the facility and the user terminal in accordance with the notification request; a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of information about the facility when the latest status information of matches the condition , and the notification request includes status information that can be delivered about the facility as an option. This includes specifying at least one piece of status information selected via a setting screen displayed on the user terminal that can be distributed regarding the facility.

According to the technique of the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately notify the user that the congestion situation desired by the user has occurred.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is the schematic explaining a structure of the facility condition management apparatus 10 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a facility status management server 200; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example functional configuration of a facility status management server 200. FIG. An example of a notification table generated by the facility status management server 200 is shown. 5 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a facility management information terminal 500; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a facility management information terminal 500; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a facility status management table stored and managed in a database 241; FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the facility status management device 10 according to the first embodiment; An example of a search result display screen on the user terminal 300 is shown. An example of a setting screen for setting a notification request on the user terminal 300 is shown. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the detailed procedure of the necessity determination of the notification of step S5. An example of a display screen when a notification based on a notification request is given to the user terminal 300 is shown. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the modified example of the first embodiment; It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure of the facility condition management apparatus 10 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of a facility-installed terminal 700 and an overview of its operation in the second embodiment; It is an example of a queue table managed by the facility status management server 200 . It is an example of a notification request setting screen displayed on the display of the user terminal 300 in the second embodiment. It is another display example of the notification request setting screen in the second embodiment. 3 shows an example of a notification table generated by the facility status management server 200 in the second embodiment. An example of a display screen when a notification based on a notification request is given to the user terminal 300 in the second embodiment is shown. An example of a facility status management table generated by the facility management information terminal 500 in the second embodiment is shown. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of a detailed procedure for determining the necessity of notification in step S5 (FIG. 6) in the second embodiment. FIG. It is an example of a display screen for explaining the facility status management device 10 according to the third embodiment. It is an example of a display screen for explaining the facility status management device 10 according to the third embodiment.

Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, functionally identical elements may be labeled with the same numbers. It should be noted that although the attached drawings show embodiments in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure, they are for the purpose of understanding the present disclosure and are not used to interpret the present disclosure in a limited way. The description herein is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope or application of this disclosure in any way.

Although the present embodiments have been described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present disclosure, other forms are possible and may be constructed or arranged without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. It is necessary to understand that it is possible to change the structure and replace various elements. Therefore, the following description should not be construed as being limited to this.

[First embodiment]
The configuration of the facility status management apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. The apparatus according to the first embodiment is an apparatus that manages the congestion status of facilities and distributes the information. Here, the facility is a facility whose congestion changes depending on the number of users, such as restaurants such as cafes and restaurants, retail stores such as supermarkets and pharmacies, counters of local governments and banks, libraries and museums. be. In addition, the congestion state indicates the number of people and the utilization rate of seats, and can be rephrased as a vacant state or a vacant state. In the form below, a store such as a restaurant is taken as an example of the facility.

The facility status management device 10 is a device that manages information (status information) regarding facility congestion status (whether there are vacant seats, seat usage rate, number of users, etc.). information processing device), a user terminal 300 , a facility 400 , and a camera 600 . Although only one user terminal 300 and one facility 400 are shown in FIG. 1 for simplification of illustration, there may be a plurality of user terminals and a plurality of facilities. The facility 400 is provided with a facility management information terminal 500 (for example, a tablet, a smart phone, etc.) for managing the congestion status of the facility 400 and the like. The facility status management server 200, the user terminal 300, and the facility management information terminal 500 are configured to be able to transmit and receive data via the network NW.

The facility status management server 200 is installed outside the facility 400, for example, in a management company that manages this apparatus, and manages information (status information) on the congestion status of the facility 400 (shops, etc.). In addition, the facility status management server 200 receives a request (notification request) from the user terminal 300 requesting a notification when the congestion status of a certain facility reaches a predetermined status (for example, no waiting status), and managed using Then, the facility status management server 200 collates the table for managing the status information with the notification table for managing notification requests, and when it is determined that the facility 400 is in the congestion status desired by the user, the facility status management server 200 notifies the user of this fact. is sent to the user terminal 300 .

The user terminal 300 is a device capable of communicating with the network NW, including, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, etc., and is a terminal used by a service recipient of the information providing service business operated by the facility status management device 10. . Via the user terminal 300 , the user inputs information for setting a notification request, and receives various types of information about the facility 400 from the facility status management server 200 .

The facility management information terminal 500 is installed in the facility 400 and is a terminal for inputting various types of information regarding information (status information) regarding the congestion state of the facility 400 . The facility management information terminal 500 can be configured by, for example, a known tablet, smart phone, personal computer, or a dedicated IoT device. An operator of the facility management information terminal 500 (manager of the facility 400 or the like) visually confirms the congestion status of the facility 400 or confirms the state of the store based on the image captured by the camera 600 . Then, according to the confirmation result, congestion information of the facility 400 is input to the information terminal 500 for facility management. The facility management information terminal 500 transmits data including the input status information and the information terminal ID (identification information) of the facility management information terminal 500 to the facility status management server 20 .

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the facility status management server 200. As shown in FIG. The facility status management server 200 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 210 , a ROM (Read Only Memory) 220 , a RAM (Random Access Memory) 230 , a storage device 240 and a communication device 250 .

The CPU 210 implements the functions provided by the facility status management server 200 by executing a computer program that implements this device. ROM 220 and RAM 230 hold data used by CPU 210 . The storage device 240 stores a computer program that implements this device. The communication device 250 communicates with the user terminal 300 and the facility management information terminal 500 via the network NW.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the facility status management server 200. As shown in FIG. The facility status management server 200 includes a display control unit 201, a reception unit 211, a facility status management unit 212, and a detection unit as software modules (functions configured by expanding various programs in the internal memory of the CPU 210) executed by the CPU 210. 213 , determination unit 214 , and notification unit 215 . In the following description, these modules may be described as the main body of operation for convenience of description, but since it is the CPU 210 that actually executes these modules, the CPU 210 can also be the main body of the operation. The storage device 240 stores a database 241 . The database 241 manages status information of the facility 400 . A configuration of the database 241 will be described later.

The display control unit 201 has a function of controlling the display of various screens displayed on the display of the user terminal 300 based on acquired data and the like. The receiving unit 211 also receives data including status information of the facility 400 from the facility management information terminal 500 via the communication device 250 . The receiving unit 211 also receives a search request for the facility 400 , an application for using the facility 400 , and a notification request for the facility 400 from the user terminal 300 via the communication device 250 .

The facility status management unit 212 identifies the facility 400 based on the information terminal ID (identification information) received together with the status information by the reception unit 211 and updates the status information of the facility 400 in the database 241 . In addition, in accordance with the notification request received from the user terminal 300, the facility status management unit 212 sets the conditions for notifying the user as the facility ID that identifies the facility 400 and the user ID that identifies the user (and/or the user terminal 300 A notification table to be managed together with a terminal ID specifying the FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a notification table. The notification table is, for example, a database that stores conditions for receiving notifications (notification conditions) based on each of a plurality of notification requests in association with reception date/time, user ID, terminal ID, facility ID, and time period. In other words, this notification table is a database containing information about which user wants to use which facility under what kind of congestion situation.

For example, when data is not received from the facility management information terminal 500 for a predetermined period of time (for example, two hours) during business hours, the detection unit 213 detects the possibility that the facility management information terminal 500 is in a power-off state, the communication failure state, and the like. , or that there is a possibility of failure.

The determination unit 214 collates the status information described above with the notification request (notification table), and determines whether the status information of the facility 400 matches the conditions indicated in each notification request. When it is determined that the status information of the facility 400 matches the conditions indicated in the notification request, the notification unit 215 transmits information to that effect to the target user terminal 300 together with the display UI data. The user terminal 300 that receives these data constructs a display UI and displays the status there.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the facility management information terminal 500. As shown in FIG. The facility management information terminal 500 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 510, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 520, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 530, a storage device 540, a communication device 550, an input device 560, and an output device. 570.

The CPU 510 controls the operation of each component (520 to 570) included in the information terminal 500 for facility management. ROM 520 and RAM 530 hold data used by CPU 510 . The storage device 540 stores programs for operating the facility management information terminal 500 .

The communication device 550 communicates with the facility status management server 200 via the network NW. The input device 560 includes a keyboard, numeric keypad, mouse, touch panel, etc., and is used by the administrator of the facility 400 to input data, instructions, and setting information. As an example, the input device 560 is used to input facility status data indicating facility congestion status. The output device 570 includes a printer, a display, a speaker, and the like, and outputs (displays) screens and data generated by the CPU 510 .

FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the facility management information terminal 500. As shown in FIG. The facility management information terminal 500 includes a control unit 511, a storage unit 512, a communication unit 513, and an input/output unit 514 as software modules executed by the CPU 510 (functions configured by expanding various programs in the internal memory of the CPU 510). Prepare. In the following description, these modules may be described as the main body of operation for convenience of description, but since it is the CPU 210 that actually executes these modules, the CPU 510 can also be the main body of the operation.

The control unit 511, for example, reads management screen configuration data of the facility management information terminal 500 from the storage device 540, generates a management screen to be described later, and outputs (displays) it to the display of the output device 570 via the input/output unit 514. do. In addition, the control unit 511 acquires an instruction input by the administrator of the facility 400 using the input device 560 via the input/output unit 514, and in response to the instruction, inputs information to the management screen on the display. display.

Furthermore, when the status information of the facility 400 is input from the facility management information terminal 500 via the input device 560, the control section 511 stores the status information in the RAM 530 and the storage device 540 via the storage section 512. data. Then, the control unit 511 transmits the status information and the identification information ID (serial ID: MAC address, for example) of the facility management information terminal 500 to the facility status management server 200 via the communication unit 513 .

When data (status information) indicating the congestion state is stored in the storage device 540 and the status information is not updated by the administrator for a predetermined time, the control unit 511 receives data from the storage device 540 via the storage unit 512. The latest status information can be acquired and transmitted to the facility status management server 200 again.

The management screen is a screen used by the facility manager to give instructions to the facility status management server 200, and can be provided in the form of a web application, for example. The web application is generated by the facility status management server 200 , transmitted to the facility management information terminal 500 , and displayed on the display screen of the output device 570 .

Further, when information is notified from the facility status management server 200, the control unit 511 acquires the information via the communication unit 513 and the input/output unit 514, and outputs (displays) the information to the display unit of the output device 570. do.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a facility status management table stored and managed in the database 241. As shown in FIG. Although the database 241 is represented in a table format in this embodiment, it is not limited to this format and may be constructed in any format as long as each data is linked.

A facility status management database (facility status management table) 2410 is a data table that manages attribute information used when a user searches for a facility 400 and the latest status (whether there are vacant seats, etc.) for each facility. The facility status management database 2410 includes, for each facility, for example, a facility ID 2411, an information terminal ID 2412, a name 2414, a genre 2415, a facility introduction 2416, a location 2417, a contact information (telephone number, etc.) 2418, and the latest information. It has vacant seat information 2419 as configuration items. One record of the facility status management table indicates the status of one facility 400, and the facility status management database 2410 manages the status of each facility as a record. Note that the configuration items of the facility status management database 2410 are not limited to the illustrated example. In addition to the illustrated example, items such as facility latitude/longitude, business hours, and price range can be included.

A facility ID 2411 is an ID for identifying each facility within the database 241 . The information terminal ID 2412 is an ID for identifying the facility management information terminal 500 of the facility corresponding to the facility ID 2411, and is the MAC address of the communication unit (communication module) 513, for example. The latest vacant seat information 2419 indicates the latest congestion state (also referred to as vacant seat state) of the facility corresponding to the facility ID 2411 .

The facility status management unit 212 stores the facility 400 status information received from the facility management information terminal 500 as the latest vacant seat information 2419 . If no status information is entered on the management screen of the information terminal for facility management 500, the vacant seat information 2419 is set to a value indicating that fact (for example, blank, NULL, etc.).

Next, when the user searches for a facility on the user terminal 300 and browses the congestion information, the user requests notification of a facility that does not have the status desired by the user, and the congestion information of the facility has the desired status. The operation of the device 10 up to the notification when it is changed to . FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram. 7 to 10 are also referred to in the explanation of the operation. In addition, below, suppose that each process (step) is described with "S".

First, in step S<b>1 , the user terminal 300 transmits a search request for viewing congestion information to the facility status management server 200 . The search request includes, for example, search conditions such as facility location, genre, price range, date and time of use, and position information. The position information may be the current position that can be acquired by the GPS function installed in the user terminal 300, or may be a specified area.

In step S2, the facility status management server 200 acquires necessary information from the facility status management table 2410 based on the search conditions and position information included in the search request, and creates a display screen showing the search results. FIG. 7 shows an example of a search result display screen displaying the search results of step S1 on the user terminal 300. As shown in FIG. On this display screen, the location of the facility 400 is displayed in a map format using a map 301 near the facility that has been found. On the map 301, a symbol (black circle) 302 indicating the position of the found facility 400 and a balloon 303 indicating the congestion status of the facility 400 are displayed.

When one of the balloons 303 on the map 301 is selected (tapped), a facility introduction card 304 relating to the facility 400 corresponding to the balloon 303 is displayed on the left side of the map 301 . It is possible to display the facility introduction card 304 related to the newly selected facility 400 larger than the already displayed facility introduction card 304 . Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the facility introduction card 304 relating to the newly selected facility can clearly indicate that the facility has been selected by, for example, displaying an asterisk mark. The facility introduction card 304 includes information about the facility 400 (for example, location, current congestion status, etc.) and a notification request setting button 305 for setting a notification request regarding the facility 400 . In step S<b>3 , the user terminal 300 displays the search results received from the facility status management server 200 .

In step S<b>4 , when the notification request setting button 305 is tapped, the user terminal 300 transmits to the facility status management server 200 that the notification request setting has been designated. At this time, the user terminal 300 also transmits the facility ID of the facility being selected (the facility targeted for the notification request) to the facility status management server 200 . By pressing the store visit button 320, it is also possible to apply for store visit without setting a notification request. When the visit button 320 is pressed, the user goes to the facility 400 without delay and stands in a queue waiting to use the facility 400 . A user who wants to use "Bistro A", but is currently waiting for 60 minutes, wants to use it again when it is less crowded, and wants to be notified when such congestion is less, can use the notification A request setting button 305 is pressed to set a notification request.

In step S5, the display control unit 201 of the facility status management server 200 identifies the target facility based on the received facility ID, refers to the facility status management table 2410, and generates a setting screen. FIG. 8 shows an example of a setting screen for setting a notification request on the user terminal 300. As shown in FIG. This setting screen is displayed when the notification request setting button 305 in FIG. 7 is pressed. For example, when the notification request setting button 305 for "Bistro A" is pressed, the setting screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. This setting screen includes, for example, a facility name display area 311 , a status selection area 312 , a time period setting area 313 , a time designation button 314 and a setting button 315 .

The facility name display area 311 is a display area for displaying the name of the facility 400 (in this case, "Bistro A") corresponding to the pressed notification request setting button 305 . In addition, the status selection area 312 displays options for selecting whether a notification from the facility status management server 200 is desired when the designated facility 400 becomes congested. ``Here, as an example, ``vacant'', ``slightly crowded'', ``crowded'', ``full'', ``10 minute wait'', and ``30 minute wait'' are displayed, and at least one can be selected (multiple selections are also possible) ). Status information that can be displayed as information indicating the congestion state of the facility 400 is an option for the status information displayed in the status selection area 312 . That is, in this embodiment, the facility 400 inputs from the facility management information terminal 500 any one of "empty", "slightly congested", "congested", "full", "10 minute wait", and "30 minute wait". The facility status management server 200 selects one of "vacant", "slightly congested", "congested", "full", "10 minute wait", and "30 minute wait" as the congestion state of the facility 400. can be delivered. As described above, the status selection area 312 has different options depending on the facility 400 . For example, if the user wishes to visit only when the selected facility 400 is vacant (has few users), he selects only "vacant". If the user wishes to visit the facility 400 if it is available, he/she selects "empty", "slightly crowded", and "crowded". On the other hand, if you think that you can wait about 10 minutes, you can select all of "empty", "slightly congested", "congested", "full", and "wait for 10 minutes". .

The time period setting area 313 is an area that displays options for setting the time period in which the facility 400 is desired to be visited. A time zone setting area 313 displays options generated based on information about the facility 400 . Here, if there is a time zone to visit, the time zone can be selected in the time zone setting area 313, and if there is no particular time zone, "no designation" can be selected. By setting a time period, notifications can be received only during the set time period. Note that it is possible to select not only one but also a plurality of options in the time zone setting area 313 . Furthermore, if the visit time is to be specifically specified, the time specification button 314 can be pressed. When the time designation button 314 is pressed, the time display in the time zone setting area 313 is switched between a blank column and a prompt display, prompting the user to enter a specific number. Note that the time zone setting area 313 can be omitted. It is also possible to select whether or not to display the time zone setting area 313 for each facility by setting the facility management information terminal 500 .

In step S6, the user terminal 300 accepts the user's operation on the setting screen and sets a notification request. When the notification request is set by the user on the setting screen of FIG.

In step S7, the facility status management unit 212 of the facility status management server 200 stores setting information regarding the set notification request in a notification table as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the facility status management unit 212 stores the facility ID of the facility 400 whose notification request setting button 305 was pressed, the status information selected in the status selection area 312, the time period specified in the time period setting area 313, The date and time when the notification request was received, the user ID included in the notification request, and the terminal ID of the user terminal that sent the notification request are added to the notification table.

In step S<b>8 , status information indicating the congestion status of the facility 400 is input from the facility management information terminal 500 of the facility 400 . Further, in step S9, the facility management information terminal 500 transmits the input status information to the facility status management server 200. FIG.

The status information in the facility status management table 2410 is updated using the status information received by the receiving unit 211 of the facility status management server 200 in step S10. At this time, it is assumed that the status information of the target facility for which the user terminal 300 set the notification request in step S4 has been updated to the desired notification status information included in the notification request. In step S11, the determination unit 214 of the facility status management server 200 determines whether or not there is a notification request for which status information should be notified. The details of the notification necessity determination process will be described later. Note that the notification determination process in the facility status management server 200 may be executed every minute, or may be executed when the status information is changed.

If the determination unit 214 determines that notification to the user terminal 300 is necessary in step S11, the facility status management server 200 informs the user terminal 300 of the congestion status of the facility 400 that the user wishes to use in step S12. Notice.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a detailed procedure for determining the necessity of notification executed by the determination unit 214 in S11. Here, it is assumed that notification necessity determination processing is executed every minute for facility 400 .

The determination unit 214 determines whether or not the current time is within the business hours of the facility 400 (step S111). If Yes, the process proceeds to step S112, and if No, step S11 ends (it is determined that the notification regarding the facility is unnecessary, and no notification is made).

In step S112, it is determined whether or not the notification table includes a notification request regarding the facility 400 concerned. Specifically, it is determined whether or not there is a record including the facility ID of the facility 400 in the notification table of FIG. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S113, and if No, step S11 ends (the facility is not notified). The order of steps S111 and S112 may be reversed, or they may be executed in parallel.

In step S113, it is determined whether or not there is at least one notification request whose current time is included in the designated time period. For example, if the current time is 11:00 am, it is determined whether or not there is at least one specified request that includes 11:00 am in the specified time period. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S114, and if No, step S11 ends (the facility is not notified). Note that the order of execution of step S113 is not limited to the order of FIG. 9, and may be executed after step S115, which will be described later, for example.

In step S114, the notification requests determined as Yes in step S113 are extracted, and a notification request group is generated as a set of the extracted notification requests.

In step S115, it is determined whether or not the current status information of the facility 400 matches the notification condition specified by one notification request included in the notification request group. For example, if the current status information of the facility 400 is "slightly congested", it is determined whether or not the notification condition includes "slightly congested". If Yes, go to step S116. If No, skip step S116 and go to step S117.

In step S116, the notification request for which the determination of Yes was made in step S115 is added to the notification list. In the subsequent step S117, it is determined whether or not there is an unprocessed notification request (the determination of step S115 has not been performed) in the notification request group. If there is an unprocessed notification request (Yes), the process returns to step S115, otherwise step S11 ends. In the subsequent step S6, a notification to the effect that the desired facility 400 is in the desired congestion state is sent to the user terminal 300 related to the notification request added to the notification list.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a display screen when the user terminal 300 is notified based on the notification request. Note that this notification is sent in the form of e-mail or SMS (Short Message Service), and can be displayed by tapping a hyperlink described in the text of the e-mail or the like. Alternatively, this notification may be sent by push notification to application software downloaded to a smartphone or the like in order to use this device 10 .

On the user terminal 300, as a notification based on the notification request, for example, as shown on the left side in FIG. If the user wishes to visit, the user taps "Yes" on the display screen and transmits data indicating that the user wishes to visit. Subsequently, the user terminal 300 inputs the number of visitors, desired seats, and the like. When the input of the information is completed, the facility status management server 200 displays information indicating the completion of reception on the screen together with, for example, the reception number and the three-dimensional code. The notification based on the notification request is basically sent to the user terminal 300, but for example, the notification is sent to a digital signage (not shown) placed near the facility 400, and the receipt number and the digital signage are sent. It can also be displayed on signage.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, a notification request is made so that a notification will be sent when a facility desired to be used by a user reaches a desired congestion state. The facility status management server 200 collates this notification request with the current status information of the facility 400, and sends a notification to the user terminal 300 when both match. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it becomes easier for the user to use the facility 400 within an allowable waiting time. By receiving the notification, the user can know that the designated facility has reached the desired congestion state. 400 can be used. Further, for the operator of the facility 400, the user who wants to use the facility as soon as the desired status is attained can be notified at a suitable timing. can increase the profit of

In this embodiment, there are six types of distributable status information of the facility 400: "empty", "slightly congested", "congested", "full", "10 minute wait", and "30 minute wait". Although the type has been described as an example, it is not limited to this. There may be five types or less, and there may be a facility that distributes only status information that does not include waiting time. For example, for a facility that distributes only status information of "vacant", "slightly crowded", and "fully occupied", naturally the options displayed in the status selection area 312 are "vacant", "slightly crowded", and "fully occupied". be a type.

Here, a modified example of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart according to a modification of the first embodiment. In this modification, another procedure (step S118) is added after step S115. Since other procedures are the same as those of FIG. 9, overlapping descriptions are omitted.

In this modification, the facility status management server 200 acquires information about the current location of each user terminal 300 based on GPS location information or the like. Then, in step S118, the determination unit 214 determines whether or not the current position of the user terminal 300 exists within a predetermined distance from the facility 400 to be determined (the current position of the user terminal 300 and the facility 400 position is compared). If it is within the predetermined distance (Yes), the notification request related to the user terminal 300 is included in the notification list as an object of notification (step S116). According to this modification, even if the status of the facility 400 matches the notification conditions specified by the notification request, notification can be avoided. If the user possessing the user terminal 300 is at a location so far away that he or she cannot arrive during the waiting time, even if the specified conditions are met, the user will arrive at the facility within the specified time. 400 is impossible to reach, the notification may be wasted. In this modified example, by avoiding unnecessary notifications, the load on the apparatus is reduced, and the user can also avoid receiving unnecessary notifications.

[Second embodiment]
The configuration of the facility status management device 10 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the device 10 of the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a notification request regarding the facility 400 that the user desires to use is sent from the user terminal 300 to the facility status management server 200, and sent to the facility status management server 200. 200 notifies the user terminal 300 of the specified congestion situation. In the second embodiment, in addition to this, a facility installation terminal 700 is installed in the vicinity of the entrance of the facility 400 or the like, so that information regarding a request for use can be input.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of the external configuration of the facility-installed terminal 700 and an overview of its operation. The facility-installed terminal 700 includes, for example, a touch panel display 701 , a printer 702 , and a support table 703 . The touch panel display 701 is held at the top of the support base 703 and held at a height at which a visitor can operate the touch panel and view the display screen. The printer 702 is supported by a support table 703 below the touch panel display 701, and is configured to print and output the result of reception processing executed on the touch panel display 701. FIG.

On the initial display screen D1 of the touch panel display 701, for example, a facility name (eg, Bistro A) is displayed, along with characters indicating the status of the facility (eg, "Currently waiting for 30 minutes") and reception of a visit. An acceptance button for starting is displayed. When the reception button is touched by a visitor's finger or touch pen, the display screen shifts from the initial display screen D1 to the number input screen D2. On the number input screen D2, the number of people to visit is input using a numeric keypad or the like. When the "next" button is pressed on the number of persons input screen D2, the display screen shifts from the number of persons input screen D2 to the desired seat input screen D3. On the desired seat input screen D3, for example, "table", "counter", and "any" are displayed as desired seat types. When the input is completed, the screen shifts to the final confirmation screen D4, and when the OK button is pressed, the acceptance process at the facility installed terminal 700 ends. When the reception is completed, the printer 702 prints out the reception slip P1. The reception slip P1 is presented to the person in charge of the facility when the person in charge of the facility calls. In addition, reception data (reception date and time, reception number, number of people, desired seats, etc.) is transmitted to the facility status management server 200 and managed in the queue table.

Thus, in the second embodiment, in addition to being able to accept visits via the website using the user terminal 300, it is also possible to accept visits using the facility-installed terminal 700. FIG. In addition, the manager of the facility 400 can accept visits by telephone. The manager of the facility 400 who accepted the visit by telephone can operate the information terminal 500 for facility management and input information regarding the contents of the reception by telephone. The reception information input from the facility management information terminal 500 according to the visit reception by telephone is transmitted to the facility status management server 200 and managed in the queue table in the same manner as the reception information at the facility installation terminal 700 . Similarly, reception data of visits via the website using the user terminal 300 are managed in the queue table in the facility status management server 200 .

FIG. 14 is an example of a queue table managed by the facility status management server 200. As shown in FIG. The queuing table stores information on the reception of a visitor as one record including reception date and time, reception number, number of people, desired seat, and customer status information. The reception date and time block includes information on the reception method (store/telephone/web) as well as the date and time of reception. Also, the customer status information indicates information indicating the status of the customer who accepted the visit (completed, calling, waiting, canceled, etc.).

Visit reception via the website using the user terminal 300 can be executed in the same procedure (FIG. 6) as in the first embodiment. 7, when the notification request setting button 305 in the facility introduction card 304 of the desired facility 400 is pressed, a notification request setting screen as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed on the display of the user terminal 300. be.

The facility name display area 311, time period setting area 313, time designation button 314, and setting button 315 of this notification request setting screen are the same as those of the first embodiment (FIG. 8). However, in the notification request setting screen of FIG. 15, the options displayed in the notification desired status selection area 312 are changed according to the notation method of the status information in the selected facility. The display control unit 201 of the facility status management server 200 refers to the classification method of status information in the facility management information terminal 500 of the facility 400, and changes options in the notification request status selection area 312 according to the classification method. As an example, the target facility expresses congestion status by waiting time, such as "no waiting", "waiting for 10 minutes", "waiting for 20 minutes", "waiting for 30 minutes", and "waiting for 40 minutes" as status information. If so, the display control unit 201 enables the notification request status selection unit 312 to display options such as "notify when there is no waiting" and "notify when waiting for ... minutes". The numerical value of "... minutes" can be selected as appropriate by clicking the number icon.

FIG. 16 shows another notation example of the notification request setting screen. The target facility can determine the congestion status according to the number of waiting customer groups, such as "no waiting", "waiting for 2 minutes", "waiting for 4 groups", "waiting for 6 groups", and "waiting for 8 groups" as status information. If it is expressed, the display control unit 201 can display options such as "Notify when there is no waiting" or "Notify when ... the group is waiting" in the notification desired status selection unit 312 according to this. , and the numerical value of "... group" can be appropriately selected by clicking the number icon. As described above, in this embodiment, the notation of the notification request status selection section 312 can be changed according to the classification method of the status information of the target facility. When a notification request is set on the notification request setting screens as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a notification table as shown in FIG. 17 is generated.

When the status information is received from the facility 400 in the situation where the notification table is generated in this way, it is determined whether or not there is a notification request regarding the facility 400 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. (Step S11 in FIG. 6). If the current status information matches the notification condition in the notification request, the corresponding user terminal 300 displays, for example, "The current waiting time for Bistro A is about 30 minutes. Are you ready?” will be sent. When YES is tapped on the screen, the number of visitors, desired seats, etc. are input, and a notification of reception completion (including reception number, etc.) is sent to the user terminal 300 .

As described above, by accepting visits via the facility installation terminal 700, accepting visits by telephone, and accepting visits at the user terminal 300 via the website, the queue table ( 14) is generated, and the facility management information terminal 500 generates a facility status management table corresponding to this queue table (see FIG. 19). The facility status management table corresponds to the queue table, and is displayed on the display of the facility management information terminal 500 so that the facility manager can operate the data contained in the table.

An operation button 314 is displayed for each record in the facility status management table. By pressing this operation button 314, for example, one record can be changed from "waiting" to another state (for example, completed, calling, canceled, changed number of people). When changing the number of people is selected, a screen for changing the number of people (not shown) is displayed, and the operation for changing the number of people can be executed.

Also, on the display of the facility management information terminal 500, a vacancy status table generated corresponding to the queue table is displayed. The availability table is a table showing the congestion status of the facility by the number of groups of customers in the line (n groups) and the waiting time (n minutes). The availability table may be generated in the facility status management server 200 according to the queue table and transmitted to the facility management information terminal 500, or may be generated by the facility management information terminal 500 referring to the queue table. .

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of a detailed procedure for determining the necessity of notification in step S11 (FIG. 6) in the second embodiment. Step S15′ is different from step S115 (FIG. 11) of the first embodiment, but the other steps (S11 to S14, S16 to S17) are the same as those of the first embodiment (FIG. 9, S111 to S114, S116 to S117), so redundant description will be omitted.

In step S15', the current waiting time Nt (or the current number of waiting groups Np) of the facility is equal to or less than the waiting time Ntx (or the specified number of waiting groups Npx) specified by one notification request included in the notification request group. It is determined whether or not If Yes, go to step S16. If No, skip step S16 and go to step S17.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment. In addition, according to the second embodiment, visits are also accepted by the facility-installed terminal 700 placed near the entrance of the facility 400 or by telephone. , and visit reception by the user terminal 300 can be managed in one queue table.

[Third Embodiment]
A facility status management apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22. FIG. The apparatus 10 of the third embodiment has the same overall configuration as that of the first or second embodiment, and redundant description will be omitted. Also, the overall operation of the device 10 is the same as in the first and second embodiments (see FIG. 6). However, in the third embodiment, whether or not to send a notification to the user can be set in the facility management information terminal 500, which is different from the above-described embodiments. In this embodiment, the facility status management server 200 has a setting unit 216 (not shown) in addition to the functional configuration shown in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 21 shows a display screen example of the facility status management table and the availability status table displayed on the facility management information terminal 500 in the third embodiment. The facility status management table and availability table itself are the same as in the second embodiment (FIG. 19). However, on this display screen, an instruction screen 318 for setting whether or not to notify the user is displayed together with the facility status management table and the availability status table. On the instruction screen 318 , for example, a check box and text “Set user notification permission/prohibition” are displayed. When this check box is tapped, the setting unit 216 starts the operation of setting permission/prohibition of notification to the user. be done.

When the check box is tapped, the screen of the instruction screen 318 is changed as shown in FIG. 22, for example. In this screen example, the options are
(1) Suspend notifications all day (2) Suspend notifications during the specified period of time (3) Suspend notifications within the specified time period are displayed. Selectable. By selecting one of the options and pressing the OK button, the setting unit 216 sets whether or not to send the notification.

With such a configuration of the third embodiment, the administrator of the facility can, at any time, change whether or not to notify the user based on the notification request. For example, at lunchtime on weekdays, if queues are likely to form around the facility regardless of whether congestion information is distributed, the facility may not want to actively attract customers. In such a case, in the second option shown in FIG. 22, by setting "weekdays" from "11:30" to "13:30", the notification request will be responded to during lunchtime on weekdays. Notifications can be turned off. In addition, if the third option is set to “stop for 2 hours from now”, notification to the user terminal 300 can be disallowed for 2 hours from now. As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to appropriately stop sending notifications corresponding to notification requests, and to flexibly solicit customers according to facility conditions.
In this embodiment, after executing the process of step S111 shown in FIG. 9, a process of determining whether notification to the user is permitted (whether notification stop is set) is executed. If stop of notification is set, it proceeds to end (END) assuming that facility-related notifications are not sent. If stop is not set, the process proceeds to step S112 and subsequent steps.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications other than those described above. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. Also, part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Moreover, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Facility situation management apparatus 200... Facility situation management server 201... Display control part 211... Reception part 212... Facility situation management part 213... Detection part 214... Judgment part 215... Notification part 240... Storage Device 241 Database 250 Communication device 300 User terminal 301 Map 302 Symbol (black circle) 304 Facility introduction card 305 Notification request setting button 311 Facility name display area 312 Notification Desired status selection unit 313 Time zone setting area 314 Time designation button 315 Setting button 500 Facility management information terminal 511 Control unit 512 Storage unit 513 Communication unit (communication module) 514... Input/output unit 540... Storage device 550... Communication device 560... Input device 570... Output device 600... Camera 700... Facility installation terminal 701... Touch panel display 702... Printer 703... Support stand.

Claims (9)

a receiving unit for receiving, from a user terminal, a notification request to the effect that notification is desired when a facility is in a specified congestion state, and for receiving, from a facility terminal, status information indicating the congestion state of the facility;
a facility status management unit that manages the notification conditions together with information specifying the facility and the user terminal according to the notification request;
a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of information about the facility when the latest status information of the facility matches the condition ;
a holding unit that holds types of status information that can be delivered with respect to the facility;
with
The notification request specifies at least one piece of status information among the status information that can be distributed regarding the facility, selected via a setting screen displayed on the user terminal as options for the status information that can be distributed regarding the facility. including
The facility status management device, wherein the setting screen displays options according to the type of the status information that can be delivered corresponding to the facility . a receiving unit for receiving, from a user terminal, a notification request to the effect that notification is desired when a facility is in a specified congestion state, and for receiving, from a facility terminal, status information indicating the congestion state of the facility;
a facility status management unit that manages the notification conditions together with information specifying the facility and the user terminal according to the notification request;
a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of information about the facility when the latest status information of the facility matches the condition;
with
The notification request specifies at least one piece of status information among the status information that can be distributed regarding the facility, selected via a setting screen displayed on the user terminal as options for the status information that can be distributed regarding the facility. including
The facility status management device, wherein the receiving unit can receive selection of a plurality of status information via the setting screen as the notification request. The notification request includes specification of a time zone in which the user terminal wishes to use the facility, and the notification unit is configured to determine whether the current time is included in the specified time zone. The facility status management device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the facility status management device is 3. The notification unit according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit compares the current location of the user terminal with the location information of the facility, and determines whether or not to notify the user terminal according to the comparison result. The facility condition management device described. The facility status management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising a setting unit that sets whether or not to send the notification by the notification unit. a receiving unit for receiving, from a user terminal, a notification request to the effect that notification is desired when a facility is in a specified congestion state, and for receiving, from a facility terminal, status information indicating the congestion state of the facility;
a facility status management unit that manages the notification conditions together with information specifying the facility and the user terminal according to the notification request;
a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of information about the facility when the latest status information of the facility matches the condition;
a setting unit that sets whether or not to send the notification by the notification unit;
with
The notification request specifies at least one piece of status information among the status information that can be distributed regarding the facility, selected via a setting screen displayed on the user terminal as options for the status information that can be distributed regarding the facility. including
The facility status management device, wherein the setting unit is configured to be able to designate a time period during which the notification unit stops sending the notification. The receiving unit receives a visit reception from the user terminal,
Furthermore, it is possible to receive a visit reception from a facility-installed terminal that is installed in the facility and receives visitors to the facility,
3. The facility status management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said facility status management unit is capable of managing visit reception at said facility installation terminal and visit reception from said user terminal using a single queue table. A program for causing a computer to function as the facility status management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . A management method for managing status information about facility congestion, comprising:
a step in which the server receives a notification request from the user terminal indicating that the user wishes to be notified when the facility is in a specified congestion state;
a step in which the server manages the conditions for the notification together with information specifying the facility and the user terminal according to the notification request;
a step in which the server notifies the user terminal of information about the facility when the status information matches the condition;
a step in which the server notifies the user terminal of information about the facility when the latest status information of the facility matches the condition;
holding in a storage unit the type of status information that can be delivered regarding the facility ;
The notification request specifies at least one piece of status information among the status information that can be distributed regarding the facility, selected via a setting screen displayed on the user terminal as options for the status information that can be distributed regarding the facility. including
The facility status management method , wherein the setting screen displays options corresponding to types of the status information that can be delivered corresponding to the facility .

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